Bill would let counties sign longer contracts for ferry maintenance to ease dry-docking delays

House Bill 1054 was heard Oct. 12, 2025, by the Local Government Committee. The bill would permit counties to enter unit-priced contracts for county ferry maintenance or repair with terms of up to 10 years, rather than the one-year term (with a one-year renewal option) now allowed under public-works contracting rules.

Kellan Wright, staff to the committee, summarized the statutory distinction: unit-priced contracts are intended for recurring public works of indefinite quantity; currently such contracts generally cannot exceed one year except for a county option to renew for a second year. The bill would extend the permissible term to 10 years for county ferry maintenance and repair contracts, while keeping prevailing procurement requirements in place.

Representative Marie Levitt, sponsor of the bill, said four counties have county-run ferry systems that rely on reliable, timely maintenance. “These are county run ferries,” Levitt said, distinguishing them from state-run ferries, and noted that outages can strand residents and disrupt school commutes, medical appointments and work. She described a recent multi-day outage that left island residents stranded and said longer contracting windows would improve access to dry-dock capacity and vendors.

Pierce County and local island representatives testified in favor. Jani Hitchen, a Pierce County council member, said a longer contract window would help counties be “a bigger fish in a very small pond” of maritime contractors and dry-dock slots, improving the counties’ ability to schedule maintenance without paying excessive premiums for one-off work. Jeremy Kammell, an Anderson Island resident and longshoreman, described past delays in scheduling engine replacement work and said limited maritime vendors and dry docks create practical barriers to timely maintenance.

Sponsors and county staff said they deliberately revised the bill from a prior session to preserve prevailing wage and minority- and women-owned-business certification processes while creating a longer enterprise-style contracting window. The County Road Administration Board (CRAB) and the Municipal Research Service Center were noted as partners in shaping the current bill language.

Committee members asked for details about available dry-dock facilities and minority/women-owned maritime contractors; county witnesses said they did not have a statewide inventory immediately available and anticipated few local dry docks able to service the vessels. The committee took testimony but did not record a vote at the hearing.